#SameTeam Support Needed For the Ukraine

March 11, 2022

Since Russia's attack on Ukraine began in February, more than 2.3 million people have fled their homes in search of safety, protection and assistance. As the humanitarian crisis escalates, UNHCR estimates that 4 million people may flee Ukraine. 

The world of sport for social change has always turned up in support of inclusion, human rights and peace and now is no different. Please join the Beyond Sport family in helping sport for development organizations who have turned their efforts to alleviating the immense suffering that Russia's invasion has caused.  

Please consider making a donation to support the League of Tolerance (Ukraine) and Fundacja dla Wolności (Poland) via the links each has provided below. 

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT LEAGUE OF TOLERANCE

For the last decade, civil unrest, political controversies and an armed insurgency have tested Ukraine, but our partners at the League of Tolerance (LOFT) have successfully been using sport to unite through diversity with a special focus on youth in Ivano-Frankivsk. 

We have been in contact with Founder, Oleksandr Fomichov (Sasha), who is asking for support to help families, especially those with children with disabilities, to relocate to safety. He and his team are working nearly 24 hours a day to help where they can with limited resources. LOFT is supporting families with transportation, hot meals, diapers, medicine, warm clothes and physical support during border crossings and to enter special trains from Lviv to Przemysl in Poland. They are also helping to provide legal and psychosocial support to the families afterwards. 

So far,  LOFT has helped 127 families and 73 individuals (500+ people) get to the West of Ukraine to a safer environment and have helped numerous families resettle outside of the country as well. They are on a mission to reach 200 families. As Sasha shared,  "Many thanks for any possible support, even moral support is very needed now."

In 2020, LOFT were shortlisted for a Beyond Sport Global Award for their cutting-edge model that creates respectful intercultural dialogue within communities and outlines practical steps to build a capacity for tolerance. Watch our interview with Sasha below. 

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT FUNDACJA DLA WOLNOSCI (via Facebook donate button)

Since 2005, Fundacja dla Wolności or "Foundation for Freedom" has been actively promoting inclusion for asylum seekers through cutting-edge sport and cultural integration projects in Warsaw. Now they have expanded their efforts to support the humanitarian crisis, working with city authorities and other local Polish organizations to assist those who need help the most.

We’ve been in contact with CEO, Krzysztof Jarymowicz, who shared that “Thousands of asylum seekers are looking for help every day, and as the government help is not organized well, it's mostly us, the NGOs, that are keeping things running.”

As the number of refugees into Poland exceeds 1 million people, Fundacja is meeting asylum seekers at train stations to provide medical care, legal assistance and shelter. Additionally, the organization is continuing its long-term projects to serve the refugee population in Warsaw. This includes ongoing sports programming in refugee camps, workshops for youth at risk of radicalization, cross-cultural trainings for teachers and schools, and other sports events and local activities.

Fundacja dla Wolności’s flagship Etnoliga program creates community and strong bonds between its diverse participants, particularly focusing on the integration of refugees. Leveraging the immense power of football, they work to break down stereotypes on gender, religion and ethnicity.

#SAMETEAM